Cholesterol. Getting it down
Discussion
Not saying eat anything, but 80% of your cholesterol is governed by your body not your diet.
Edited to add, if you are already excessively overweight then then your body, ie your liver, will be struggling to manage the cholesterol and will lead to high readings.
So indirectly your diet affects your cholesterol reading but not in the direct way of high fat equal high cholesterol kind of way….
Edited to add, if you are already excessively overweight then then your body, ie your liver, will be struggling to manage the cholesterol and will lead to high readings.
So indirectly your diet affects your cholesterol reading but not in the direct way of high fat equal high cholesterol kind of way….
Edited by HarryW on Saturday 24th October 23:41
ledz said:
Any tips / advice
My cholesterol is now 5.9 after my recent blood test. Used to be 5.1
Any alternative to cream in my morning coffee and I love a good cheese sandwich
Also what milk oat / soya / almond. ?
Currently use semi skimmed normal green top.
Also have good old fashioned butter
Presumably that s total cholesterol.My cholesterol is now 5.9 after my recent blood test. Used to be 5.1
Any alternative to cream in my morning coffee and I love a good cheese sandwich
Also what milk oat / soya / almond. ?
Currently use semi skimmed normal green top.
Also have good old fashioned butter
What age are you? QRisk3 of 5.2 seems ok.
What other blood markers did you get before you panic unnecessarily over cholesterol?
Was the blood test fasted?
Triglycerides?
HBA1C?
Lp(a)?
Omega 3 Index?
Any ratios on the test such as triglyceride/HDL ration?
Liver function numbers?
Oh, and BMI because that has an influence.
And we ll all be utterly shocked if they tested you for fasting insulin which is a waaay more important test than cholesterol.
Edited by DaveGrohl on Sunday 25th October 07:16
Edited by DaveGrohl on Sunday 25th October 07:24
Another question is why are you on semi-skimmed and looking to drop it and go onto starch based plant "milks"?
Full fat dairy has been proven not to increase risk years ago, the opposite in fact.
The other "milks" could possibly increase your risk.
It’s an artefact of the fat bad nonsense from decades ago.
Pretty much all dairy is heart positive, but butter specifically doesn’t get included in that clean bill of health, but I’m not getting into that discussion because it is incredibly nuanced and far from clear.
Far better to ask what are you putting the butter on and maybe cut down on that.
Full fat dairy has been proven not to increase risk years ago, the opposite in fact.
The other "milks" could possibly increase your risk.
It’s an artefact of the fat bad nonsense from decades ago.
Pretty much all dairy is heart positive, but butter specifically doesn’t get included in that clean bill of health, but I’m not getting into that discussion because it is incredibly nuanced and far from clear.
Far better to ask what are you putting the butter on and maybe cut down on that.
everything in moderation, also need to watch sugar and alcohol as they can mess with your lipids too.
it's unlikely your cofee is doing the heavy lifting. i would tracking 'everything' that goes in your mouth, for a couple of days, including all snacks, and put it into AI. you don't need to track forever just enough to identify what is your problem foods.
statins have benifits beyond lipids
it's unlikely your cofee is doing the heavy lifting. i would tracking 'everything' that goes in your mouth, for a couple of days, including all snacks, and put it into AI. you don't need to track forever just enough to identify what is your problem foods.
statins have benifits beyond lipids
Thx all
Triglycerides 1.4 mmol
BMI is 19 to 20’ish
Not fastest I’d had breakfast and lunch before the test
Early 50s. Keep fit run 3 days a week weights 3 days a week
Booze 🥃 at weekend in moderation
All other notes on the nhs app about my bloods are ok / normal
Thanks everyone for the help / advice
I’ll cut down on cream and cheese.
Go back in 6 months
Triglycerides 1.4 mmol
BMI is 19 to 20’ish
Not fastest I’d had breakfast and lunch before the test
Early 50s. Keep fit run 3 days a week weights 3 days a week
Booze 🥃 at weekend in moderation
All other notes on the nhs app about my bloods are ok / normal
Thanks everyone for the help / advice
I’ll cut down on cream and cheese.
Go back in 6 months
In the absence of other risk factors (smoking, hypertension, family history of MI / stroke / dementia, IDDM) I wouldn't be particularly concerned about your lipid profile.
A statin would drop the readings of the bad guys by around 50%.
That would be better than your current readings, but may not make much difference to your life in the longterm.
Some people don't get on with them, most do.
What you do is up to you.
Diet won't do much as most cholesterol / LDL is made in the liver.
Dietry input isn't relevant for most people.
I'm not going to get into any discussion from the statinphobe here.
Suffice it to say that I have the required qualifications.
I doubt that he has.
A statin would drop the readings of the bad guys by around 50%.
That would be better than your current readings, but may not make much difference to your life in the longterm.
Some people don't get on with them, most do.
What you do is up to you.
Diet won't do much as most cholesterol / LDL is made in the liver.
Dietry input isn't relevant for most people.
I'm not going to get into any discussion from the statinphobe here.
Suffice it to say that I have the required qualifications.
I doubt that he has.
Apparently I have this
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditio...
It was flagged up on genetic testing I had done privately.
I haven't yet spoken to my GP, but I expect it will be statins.
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditio...
It was flagged up on genetic testing I had done privately.
I haven't yet spoken to my GP, but I expect it will be statins.
lord dubington said:
everything in moderation also need to watch sugar and alcohol as they can mess with your lipids too.
it's unlikely your cofee is doing the heavy lifting. i would tracking 'everything' that goes in your mouth, for a couple of days, including all snacks, and put it into AI. you don't need to track forever just enough to identify what is your problem foods.
statins have benifits beyond lipids
That is what my diabetic nurse preaches. She doesn't expect you to be an angel, but she also doesn't want you eating cakes every day. Also, as you say, alcohol is a big one. I used to drink a bit of cider, but cutting right down on that alone made a big difference to my levels.it's unlikely your cofee is doing the heavy lifting. i would tracking 'everything' that goes in your mouth, for a couple of days, including all snacks, and put it into AI. you don't need to track forever just enough to identify what is your problem foods.
statins have benifits beyond lipids
Slow.Patrol said:
Apparently I have this
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditio...
It was flagged up on genetic testing I had done privately.
I haven't yet spoken to my GP, but I expect it will be statins.
Get a cholesterol test or have some recent results when you see your GPhttps://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditio...
It was flagged up on genetic testing I had done privately.
I haven't yet spoken to my GP, but I expect it will be statins.
Hypercholesterolaemia is unique to every person, you might have a mild case or not.
Be especially careful if there is a family history of CVD trouble.
You probably won't notice 10mg of statin if your LDL is over 2.0
They recommended exercise for my levels, which were around the upper threshold. This made no difference at all. In fact it went up further after 6 months, thus I went on a statin. The GP seemed delighted - they do like to prescribe things.
I would tend to agree that dieting is probably a waste of time, unless you are overweight. There is a strong constitutive and genetic element to cholesterol metabolism. A statin is a relatively cheap and effective intervention but obviously the data is based on statistics, rather than individual experience - and only time will tell. Of course it is possible to have a good BMI and still have CVD as well. So don't get lulled into a false sense of security.
I would tend to agree that dieting is probably a waste of time, unless you are overweight. There is a strong constitutive and genetic element to cholesterol metabolism. A statin is a relatively cheap and effective intervention but obviously the data is based on statistics, rather than individual experience - and only time will tell. Of course it is possible to have a good BMI and still have CVD as well. So don't get lulled into a false sense of security.
Yahonza said:
They recommended exercise for my levels, which were around the upper threshold. This made no difference at all. In fact it went up further after 6 months, thus I went on a statin. The GP seemed delighted - they do like to prescribe things.
Of course they do.https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/gp-pract...
"QOF is a voluntary annual reward and incentive programme for GP practices"
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026...
Search for statin and look at the points awarded. Points mean (monetary) prizes.
Same for vaccines and other common conditions (as detailed in the first link).
Tisy said:
Yahonza said:
They recommended exercise for my levels, which were around the upper threshold. This made no difference at all. In fact it went up further after 6 months, thus I went on a statin. The GP seemed delighted - they do like to prescribe things.
Of course they do.https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/gp-pract...
"QOF is a voluntary annual reward and incentive programme for GP practices"
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026...
Search for statin and look at the points awarded. Points mean (monetary) prizes.
Same for vaccines and other common conditions (as detailed in the first link).
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